Merger Proposal
April 2024
SOLA Multi-Academy Trust and Inicio Educational Trust are working together to explore potentially merging into a single trust to grow and improve what we offer to our schools. We are inviting thoughts on these proposals between Tuesday 23 April and Tuesday 14 May 2024.
The rationale behind the decision to consider joining together includes:
- Our schools have much in common, share the same values and culture and are committed to building the new trust on these foundations. All our schools are successful and popular, and we highly value each individual school’s unique identity and character.
- The Department for Education is strongly advising smaller Trusts to grow, as they believe this increases effectiveness and sustainability.
- By bringing together local primary and secondary schools this merger will contribute to, and improve, the local educational landscape.
- Our schools have benefited from working in collaboration within their existing partnerships, and already enjoy a close working relationship. However, combining our experience, expertise and resources would enable an even better range of services to our schools and sustain and advance educational excellence.
- Our children and young people would achieve and experience even more as part of a larger family of schools.
- Our staff would benefit from greater opportunities for collaboration and personal and professional development within a larger trust.
SOLA Multi-Academy Trust consists of six primary schools and one junior school. Inicio Educational Trust consists of one primary school and four secondary schools. Eleven of the schools are in the London Borough of Bromley, with one school located in the London Borough of Croydon. The two trusts are exploring coming together to create a single educational trust.
May 2024
Our thanks for the very small number of thoughts and questions contributed by members of our communities during April and May regarding our proposed merger. In response to this we have added additional Q&A to the bottom of our FAQs page. We will now continue working together on exploring next steps, and conducting due diligence.